I’ve just ordered a pair of Focal Elegia as a Closed Back option for my Atom HE (currently have Elear and Clear sets…planning trade up to Utopia at some point when there’s a next offer)
– I know they’re not the last word, but at £150 in the current Aussie fire-sale, I figured why not, how bad can they be at the price…! Read a few things saying they had a similar performance to the replacement Celestee and Radiance (which I didn’t really want to pay for, nor like the colourways, or want Bentley stamped on my head)…I’m sure the Stellia are far better, at a cost, but I figure the Elegia will be a good way to dip my toes in closed back….if I like having the CB alternative alongside OB , I can always go further later with not much lost, and hopefully Focal may also have changed the colour on the Stellia by then…!
Anyways – also read a number of Elegia users had changed the earpads to Dekoni alternatives for a performance uplift….Has anyone here done the same, ideally with the Atom HE …? And if so, which particular Dekoni pads – Fenestrated Sheepskin or Standard (non Fenestrated), or the ‘Stellia Style’ reissue version….?
Some rave about the dekoni ear pads. I tried them on some Meze headphones and couldn’t tell any difference in audio quality. Not a path I pursue again.
I have a preference for open backs but accept closed backs are needed if sound leakage is an issue.
Yeah, I did read one user feedback saying he hardly noticed any difference with the change of pads….then others swore they gave certain SQ tweaks….
Totally agree re OB versus CB….I have no real ‘need’ for closed back re sound leakage aspects, just thought I’d give them a try at the cost and also to have as an alternative– they may even suit certain music…
I like the spaciousness with open backs, but must be said, with the Focals at least, they may as well not be on your head – everybody within couple hundred yards can hear what you’re listening to…!!
Have had a pair of Elegia for a couple of months now. Realky like them. Felt no need to try any different pads to be honest. Took a good couple of weeks to run them in.
I think Dekoni are well-made and very comfortable. Have them on both my Audezes and like them a lot.
Don’t remember buying them for any SQ reasons though.
I bought the (limited edition, I think) Grado Hemp headphones a couple of weeks ago, and I think that I’ve managed to track down an unused Headline. (I wonder why that was discontinued.)